Bass, panfish among the hottest area species right now

Fishing around Northwest Michigan is just fair right now and some anglers have been influenced by the hot weather, preferring perhaps to swim rather than sit in a boat in the glaring sun.

Those who have been out have had some luck, with bass and panfish high on the list. Salmon anglers have fared poorly with just a few fish around, apparently, but hopes are still high for a good season.

Dave at Young's in Alanson reports Douglas Lake is currently the hot spot with anglers on that water scoring on bluegills, pike and bass. Dave was out on Burt Lake twice over the weekend and spotted just a couple of boats each time, confirming that Burt Lake action is slow at this stage of the summer.

Kevin at the Pickerel Lake Party Shoppe reports fishing was good in the evening on Crooked and Pickerel Lake during most of the week, but the water sports activity on the weekend apparently put the fish down. All the wakes from jet skis and water skiers discouraged the anglers if not the fish and the best action was then in the early morning. Best action was for bass and pike on Pickerel Lake, but some walleyes and perch were taken, too.

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Over in Indian River, Larry at Pat and Gary's says fishing has been fairly good on both lakes (Mullett and Burt) for pike and bass with particularly good action on the south end of Mullett Lake. Walleyes have been taken late at night in fairly deep water.

At Chain O' Lakes Outdoor Sports in Ellsworth, Gordy reports just "average" action on panfish and bass on the chain. Another big (64 inches) musky was caught on Ellsworth Lake recently and that makes several biggies for the chain this season, so far. Bass fishing is especially good right now Gordy says, but there have been no reports of good walleye action.

In Boyne City, Dave at the Boyne River Bait Company reports the Hex hatch is still on the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix and apparently inhibiting the fishing action there. In spite of the hatch, anglers are still getting walleyes and bass in several areas of the lake, including the South Arm and the east end of the main arm. Lake Charlevoix anglers also report catching some nice big rock bass. While the "goggle-eyes" are considered trash fish by some anglers, others catch and eat them with relish. Dave says Walloon Lake is giving up some perch now.

Don at Ward Brothers in Charlevoix reports the salmon fishing is improving. Their charter on Sunday resulted in one nice salmon caught, another got off and three keeper lakers went into the cooler. The salmon was down there 60 feet. The lakers are still running small and it is necessary to sort through several throw-back fish for every keeper. Don says their boats are not marking a lot of salmon, but they are hopeful for the immediate future.

The most recent report from Tom Bagwell, the Department of Natural Resources's creel census worker in this area, indicates salmon are being taken from 70-90 feet down over much deeper water on a variety of spoons or flies and dodgers. Tom confirms the lakers are running small, but it helps to remember the minimum size in this area is 24 inches so a keeper is a pretty good-sized fish. He also reports anglers fishing off docks and piers on Lake Michigan are catching smallmouth bass while those anglers working Lake Charlevoix are getting a few smallish perch now.

Tim Kochanny, the Charlevoix County area conservation officer for many years, has taken retirement and we were among a big crowd of well-wishers at his recent send-off party. He will be missed by all the local law enforcement folks as well as by the many DNR people who worked with him. I will miss him too, since he was the source of many an interesting outdoor story.

The poachers won't miss him - not favorably at least - since he was fairly tough on them while being very fair in his typical outdoor encounter with hunters and anglers. He will be replaced almost immediately, probably by transfer, since Charlevoix is a fairly attractive post. Good luck Tim in your future endeavors working with young people.